The shock is what is not considered shocking...

2 October 2007, 12:00am

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A friend emails to ask for ideas he can pitch to an editor for a populist column designed to appeal to - and shock and outrage! - middle America. Ideally, he says, you'd want some example or combination of:

“

1. Kids endangered somehow

2. Taxpayer money wasted

3. Fat cats bilking the little guy

4. Government out of control

5. Decency/common sense gone out the window

Well, the Ethanol Boondoggle satisfies 2, 3, 4 and 5 while the WaronDrugs manages to go one better, mmeeting each and every one of these requirements.

Somehow however I doubt this is the message my friend's editor wants to hear.